8 Foods That Promote Better Sleep

According to a study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, eat right, to dream right because there are certain nutrients that play certain roles in our sleeping patterns. Those who had the healthiest sleep patterns were found to have a well-rounded range of diets.

If you're yearning for quality rest at night, eating these foods might help you sleep better.

1.) Banana

Eating bananas around bedtime can make you snooze a lot easier, according to Live Strong. Bananas contain substances that make sleeping easier such as potassium, magnesium, tryptophan and melatonin.

Potassium and magnesium are substances that act as a muscle relaxant. One large banana contains 487 mg of potassium and 37 mg of magnesium. Tryptophan, when ingested, turns into serotonin that promotes sleep. Melatonin is known as a "sleep hormone" that makes you feel drowsy to help you fall asleep faster.

2.) Walnuts

According to mDhil Networks, walnuts can improve sleep because it contains melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep and helps regulate the body's internal clock. In addition to being a natural sleeping aid, it is heart healthy, improves the mood, good for the brain, keep bones strong, anticancer, a good for diabetics and those trying to lose weight.

3.) Tart Cherries

Tart cherries are a good food source of the hormone melatonin that is also an antioxidant, according to DiseaseProof. Drinking the juice or consuming tart cherries could help improve sleep quality.

4.) Lettuce

A lettuce salad or sandwich for dinner could help you fall asleep according to Reader's Digest. Lettuce contains lactucarium, a substance with sedative properties. A 15-minute lettuce brew of 3-4 lettuce leaves could also help. You can try adding mint to flavor and make sure to sip on the beverage before bedtime.

5.) Chamomile Tea

Although technically not a food, chamomile tea is one of the best bedtime drinks to help induce sleep. According to Shape.com, sipping on chamomile tea can help calm the body as it contains no caffeine unlike in other teas.

6.) Honey

Natural honey is a natural sweetener and apparently an old-time sleep remedy according to Waxing Kara. Honey helps release melatonin and stabilizes blood sugar. A popular way to take honey is a teaspoon of raw honey in chamomile tea or a cup of warm milk.

7.) Kale

Kale is a green leafy vegetable that is good source of calcium, a mineral that signals the brain to sleep. According to Organic Authority, this vegetable also repairs the body during sleep because it is loaded with good vitamins and minerals.

8.) Hummus

According to 3FC, one health benefit of hummus, a paste amade from chickpeas and tahini, is inducing good quality sleep due to the amino acids tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine.